The UFC’s ultimate underdog assumes that role once again for his first title defense – the UFC 98 main event against Lyoto Machida Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Despite an impressive ascent to the UFC’s light heavyweight crown, which included victories over Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell and Michael Bisping, the overachieving Evans has yet to conquer the critics.

“I don’t take it personal,” said Evans (13-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC). “Whether they believe I can win or don’t believe I can win, it doesn’t really matter because it’s not the first time I’ve been the underdog going into a fight. And, I haven’t lost yet.”

The 29-year-old wrestling-bred Niagara Falls, N.Y. native has been beating the MMA odds since being picked for the second season cast of “The Ultimate Fighter.” At 5-foot-11 and a light heavyweight at just 225 pounds, Evans turned back all comers en route to winning the heavyweight finale.

Since his appearance on “TUF,” he’s improved perhaps more than any other contestant from the reality show and has added an effective, if still-evolving, striking game to his wrestling and grappling base.

Criticized for an inability to finish opponents in his first three UFC bouts, he promptly went out and blasted Jason Lambert and Sean Salmon in succession, both inside of two rounds. Tentativeness cost him in his first crack at a big-time fight against Tito Ortiz at UFC 73, and he was forced to settle for a draw. However, Evans learned from the experience and demonstrated zero hesitation when pitted against another UFC icon. Evans’ brutal KO of Liddell at UFC 88 produced a defining career moment – before he stripped the belt from Griffin.

“I always felt like I was on that level,” said Evans of being considered a world-class fighter before winning the title. “It’s just a matter of performing. It’s just a matter of putting it together, and hopefully, I can continue to put it together, but you never know what kind of fight you’re going to have. I’ve been fortunate in my last two fights to come out there and have a great performance and getting the right mindset before I go out and perform.”

Evans takes adaptability and confidence into the match-up against the unorthodox, counter-striking Machida, a fighter who has puzzled and frustrated opponents en route to six consecutive UFC victories. Evans labels Machida’s style as “pretty tricky,” but he downplays that as being the X-factor in the fight.

“It doesn’t present any problems,” said Evans, who’s been to three camps to train and help teammates prepare since he beat Griffin in December. “Watching somebody fight, breaking them down, sometimes the best evidence you get is when there’s not really a weakness that somebody else hasn’t been exploited … and watching Machida’s tapes, I’ve definitely seen enough that I can do myself in areas that fit into what I do well. So, I’m not worried about it.”

The plodding Machida, 30, punched his title-shot ticket with a first-round knockout of Thiago Silva at UFC 94 in January. Silva’s aggressive, fire-first style played to Machida’s strength as a counter-puncher, and the Brazilian notched his first UFC KO.

Even in the wake of his best performance in the octagon, the UFC still eyed Quinton Jackson for the match-up against Evans. Machida isn’t a pay-per-view draw, doesn’t speak much English and hasn’t endeared himself to American fans. But when Jackson couldn’t make the fight, Machida (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was the only viable option.

Machida understands there’s more to MMA than just wins and losses.

“It’s part of my job to entertain the fans,” he said. “In the end, it’s a sport, but it’s also entertainment. I’m being paid to entertain the fans, but I believe that all of the criticism goes on to a good side of my training because I can hear what the people are saying and kind of adapt my training and kind of get better in whatever way I can.

“There’s always a little bit of pressure, especially in this fight coming out in the main event, but one of my main priorities is to put on a great performance and to really satisfy my fans.”

While Machida’s run in the UFC has been short on style points, it’s hard to argue that he’s not deserving of the opportunity. The punch out of Silva was his biggest victory in the UFC, but he’s also dispatched Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Kazuhiro Nakamura. In addition, he gives the organization the chance to sell the fight as the first UFC championship bout between undefeated fighters, for what that’s worth.

Jackson, meanwhile, awaits the winner.

Wait ends for former champions Hughes, Serra

The UFC 98 co-feature is an overdue match-up between the Matts, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

Both fighters have wanted this bout for years. Following their coaching stints on season six of “TUF,” with Serra holding the welterweight belt and Hughes holding disdain for his coaching counterpart, fans craved it as well.

Each stirred the pot for the fight. Hughes insinuated that Serra landed a lucky punch to take the title from Georges St. Pierre and that Serra wasn’t of the same championship ilk as he and GSP. Serra mocked Hughes during the taping of “TUF.” It was compelling stuff – until delays and losses started to mount.

Serra suffered a back injury, which scuttled the fight, originally planned for UFC 79. Serra subsequently lost the belt to St. Pierre. Hughes experienced his own injury setback and lost two straight bouts.

Put another way, this match isn’t the grudge it once was.

Hughes hasn’t fought in nearly a year while Serra has been off even longer. Hughes (42-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) used the extra prep time to travel to other camps to train, including a stint with Sean Sherk at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.

For Serra, the long lead time allowed his back to completely heal.

“My back feels awesome now, and I was healthy for St. Pierre,” said Serra (9-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC). “There’s no way I’m going to be saying that ‘No, no I was hurt for that.’ I was healthy. I mean during the training camp, I had to – we tailored it, and I was a little cautious of my back during the training camp, but I was in shape for sure. But, for this training camp, I was able to do a ton more as far as with the wrestling, the grappling, and really push myself where I kind of just worked around it different ways. I still was in shape for my last one, but I feel fantastic for this one.”

In a battle between the jiu-jitsu ace in Serra and Hughes, the wrestler, Serra believes striking could dictate the result.

“If it stays on the feet, I definitely feel I have an advantage there,” he said. “I feel like I could do way more damage than I feel he could do on his feet. But, if it goes to the floor, I’m going to be ready to rock for sure.”

Regardless of the outcome, the fight could be the last major bout for both fighters. Neither is openly talking retirement, but the reality is they are a combined 2-3 over the past two-plus years. Fighters such as St. Pierre, Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch and Mike Swick are the division’s future, not Hughes and Serra.

For his part, the 33-year-old Serra seems good with that. A victory over Hughes would make it that much better.

“I want that notch in my belt, man; you know what I mean?” said Serra in his patented Long Island accent. “That’s how I look at it. I look at it like, man, you know there’s – no matter what happens with me in the future, there’s guys like GSP and … Matt Hughes. I’m sure they are going to be future hall-of-famers, and I get Matt Hughes under my belt, I get that, and I take care of him. And, even if I would not be considered the best that ever was, I have a victory over some guys that will be, so I can live with that.”

Hughes doesn’t need another victory to solidify his legacy as one of the sport’s all-time greats. Between March 2001 and September 2006, Hughes, now 35, went 19-1 and won the UFC 170-pound twice during the stretch.

Also on the UFC 98 main card, Sean Sherk (33-3-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Frankie Edgar (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) meet in a pivotal lightweight bout. A win moves the former champion Sherk closer to another crack at the title while a victory for Edgar would be the most noteworthy in his nearly four years of fighting.

The first bout on the PPV telecast is slated for just after 10 p.m. Eastern.

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